PETITION TO STOP CRITICAL RACE THEORY & SOCIAL JUSTICE TEACHING IN VA BEACH SCHOOLS AND THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

(Be sure to click on the links in the petition)

In Sept 2020, the Virginia Beach School Board adopted a policy that requires “Culturally Responsive” (CR) training for all staff and School Board. The policy also requires CR curriculum and assessments for students. In recent years, schools have incorporated CR training and curricula to combat the invalid notion that our present-day society is rife with systemic racism. Systemic racism is defined as practices that have been purposefully instituted to benefit one segment of society at the expense of another. These curricula (cultural proficiency, cultural competence, social justice) are intended to address a fictitious societal ill that seeks to divide Americans. This training and curriculum development have begun and the public needs to be aware of what is being taught to teachers, staff and students WITHOUT the knowledge or input of the community or parents.

Students are being taught in public school classrooms throughout Virginia that they should place one another in groups by race and they should acknowledge “white privilege” and fight for social justice. A VA Beach high school teacher gave an assignment based on an opinion article by CNN that told students to “not involve police unless it's an immediate matter of life and death, because police presence increases the risk of lethal harm to Black people.” Recent teacher training in Virginia Beach tells teachers “of course you are racist” and they should “lean into their discomfort.” Also, that they should “acknowledge how your appearance…might place you in a privileged position”, and also talk about racial issues such as police brutality with students and families. A VA Beach high school history teacher stated that he teaches the 1619 project and will continue to do so every year. Teachers and school leaders have posted on social media such things as “Capitalism is Racist” and advocating to teach Critical Race Theory.

CR is grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT) and whiteness studies, which is a baseless, racist, discriminatory and a divisive concept. It assigns characteristics to people based on the color of their skin whereby all white people are oppressors and privileged and people of color are oppressed victims. Experience has borne out that CR has not heralded an era of racial sensitivity and harmony but instead produced just the opposite. These lessons are dehumanizing and prevent authentic relationships among students. These practices have been occurring across the country and students describe feeling ashamed, vulnerable, helpless, traumatized and bullied. It teaches children to judge others not by their character but by their skin color, a complete reversal of the lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Taxpayer dollars, time and resources would be more wisely spent improving the core competencies of our students rather than indoctrinating and politicizing them into “social justice warriors”. While students’ performance in math and reading of all demographics across the nation have been dropping, schools are reallocating teaching time and resources to CR lessons.

Therefore, we the undersigned implore the Virginia Beach School Board and the Superintendent to abolish the “Equity Policy” and refrain from

• Implementing CR training to teachers
• Incorporating CR into core curricula or any CR related courses into the classroom
• Implementing CR instruction; and
• Funding programs and positions used to create and promote CR

We further call on our State Legislators to demand that Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Social Justice initiatives be abolished from the Virginia Department of Education.